Rusdihardjo should 'submit evidence'

Rusdihardjo should 'submit evidence'

JAKARTA (JP): Former National Police chief Gen. Rusdihardjo
should submit the evidence of President Abdurrahman Wahid's
alleged involvement in the Rp 35 billion State Logistics Agency
(Bulog) scandal to the police, an officer said on Thursday.

The comments were made following media reports that
Rusdihardjo had testified before the House of Representatives'
Special Committee on Tuesday, asserting the President's
involvement in the scandal.

"If Rusdihardjo really said those things before the committee,
he must submit the evidence to police who are investigating the
case," National Police Director for General Crimes Brig. Gen.
Alex Bambang Riatmodjo told reporters.

Sources close to the committee's investigation told The
Jakarta Post on Tuesday that Rusdihardjo testified that Siti
Farikha, a Semarang-based businesswoman, had received a Rp 5
billion check from the President. The money was reportedly
obtained from Bulog.

The scandal revolves around the disbursement of Rp 35 billion
from Bulog's employee foundation Yanatera to Abdurrahman's
personal masseur Alip Agung Suwondo who allegedly acted on behalf
of the President.

The President, known as Gus Dur, was questioned as witness
over the case on June 23 at the presidential palace by a team of
investigators from the Jakarta Police. The team was escorted by
Rusdihardjo, then Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Nurfaizi,
Jakarta Police Detectives chief Sen. Supt. Harry Montolalu and
Alex.

On Thursday, Alex dismissed media reports that the police had
earlier found evidence of the President's involvement.

"The dossiers we submitted to the court showed that Gus Dur
was not involved in the scandal," said Alex, who was the Jakarta
Police Detectives chief when news of the scandal first broke.

"It is not true that there were two different dossiers (on the
questioning of Gus Dur)," Alex said.

Media reports said the police had made two conflicting
dossiers from the questioning of the President, one of which
showed Gus Dur's involvement.

Contacted by phone, Rusdihardjo did not confirm nor deny
reports that he had revealed Gus Dur's involvement in the case.

"I cannot disclose my statements before the special committee
to the public," Rusdihardjo told the Post.

"And the special committee should not make public my statement
either because it was supposed to be a closed hearing," he said.

In a separate development, Elza Syarief, a defense lawyer for
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former
president Soeharto, denied on Thursday that she had defamed the
President concerning the latter's covert meetings with her client
prior to the rejection of her client's appeal for a presidential
pardon.

Elza said she had never disclosed any of the conversations
during the meeting at the Borobudur Hotel in Central Jakarta on
Oct. 5 or at the Regent Hotel in South Jakarta on the following
day since her client has not given permission to do so.

"I only said that I know the details of the meetings from my
client. Mas Tommy said that he has the tape of the conversation
and witnesses, but kept the location of the tape and the
witnesses' names a secret. I have yet to listen to the tape," she
said.

Presidential spokesman Adhie Massardi said on Wednesday that
the President, known as Gus Dur, would take legal actions against
Tommy's lawyers, father-in-law Bambang Sucahyo Ajie Suryobandoro
and sister Siti "Titiek" Hediati Hariyadi for defamation.

Many people suspect that during the meeting with Tommy, Gus
Dur was trying to cut a deal to secure the return of the Soeharto
family wealth allegedly illegally amassed during the former
president's 32 years of rule.

Gus Dur has repeatedly dismissed such speculation. (bby/jaw)